Peeking behind the Law of Moses is a spiritually helpful practice. Some commandments in the Law of Moses are timeless principles. Others, however, are culturally specific examples. Failure to recognize between an example bound by time and space and a timeless principle leads to legalism.
Reading Galatians 3:1-11 and Matthew 5:13-20 together is quite helpful. We read that Jesus never objected to the Law of Moses, but to the misinterpretation, bad teaching, and flawed execution of it. That also seems to have been an objection of St. Paul the Apostle.
The other readings pertain to oppression. We read of violations of one timeless principle in the Law of Moses–do not exploit anyone. We read of religious figures and royal officials who were predators of the weak and vulnerable. Alas, this problem is as current in 2018 as it was in antiquity. So is the sin of certain religious figures supporting those predatory potentates and officials.
The timeless principles of the Law of Moses continue to condemn those who sin thusly. Indeed, apart from variations on themes, there is nothing new under the sun.
Do we condemn or condone such perfidy?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 21, 2018 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH, CARL PHILIPP EMANUEL BACH, AND JOHANN CHRISTIAN BACH, COMPOSERS
THE FEAST OF SAINT NICHOLAS OF FLÜE AND HIS GRANDSON, SAINT CONRAD SCHEUBER, SWISS HERMITS
THE FEAST OF SAINT SERAPION OF THMUIS, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM EDWARD HICKSON, ENGLISH MUSIC EDUCATOR AND SOCIAL REFORMER
Psalm 1 might be overly optimistic, but it functions as a fine counterpoint to the other readings. Those readings address groups. Jeremiah spoke to the Kingdom of Judah. St. Paul the Apostle, addressing Jews in Antioch in Pisidia (in Asia Minor), spoke of the actions of religious authorities in Jerusalem. St. (Simon) Peter the Apostle or someone writing in his name addressed congregations in Asia Minor. Those three pericopes fit well together, for they diagnose societal problems. Hubris is the main ill in Jeremiah 13. From that pride flow other sins. Such a diagnosis fits the pericope from Acts 13 well, for hubris contributed to the execution of an innocent man. The readings from 1 Peter takes as its theme obedience to God.
Then away with all wickedness and deceit, hypocrisy and jealousy and malicious talk of any kind!
–1 Peter 2:1, The Revised English Bible (1989)
So much for a great deal of politics, talk radio, celebrity news, and Internet content!
The words of these days’ pericopes indict as strongly today as they did when they were fresh. Human nature has not changed over time. As Koheleth wrote,
Only that shall happen
Which has happened,
Only that occur
Which has occurred;
There is nothing new
Beneath the sun!
–Ecclesiastes 1:9, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
Time passes, technology changes, and political and economic systems come and go, but we are really playing out variations of old themes, are we not? Hubris remains current, malicious gossip has never ceased, and people in power continue to cause innocents to die.
May God have mercy on us all!
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
OCTOBER 14, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF ALL CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES
THE FEAST OF SAMUEL ISAAC JOSEPH SCHERESCHEWSKY, EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF SHANGHAI
THE FEAST OF THOMAS HANSEN KINGO, DANISH LUTHERAN BISHOP, HYMN WRITER, AND “POET OF EASTERTIDE”
Everlasting God, you give strength to the weak and power to the faint.
Make us agents of your healing and wholeness,
that your good may be made known to the ends your creation,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 24
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The Assigned Readings:
Leviticus 13:1-17 (Thursday)
Leviticus 14:1-20 (Friday)
Leviticus 14:21-32 (Saturday)
Psalm 30 (All Days)
Hebrews 12:7-13 (Thursday)
Acts 19:11-20 (Friday)
Matthew 26:6-13 (Saturday)
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Hear me, LORD, and be kind to me,
be my helper, LORD.
–Psalm 30:11, The Psalms Introduced and Newly Translated for Today’s Readers, Harry Mowvley (1989)
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Ritual impurity and purity were major concerns in the Law of Moses. Among the major forms of ritual impurity were those which tzara’at, or the leakage of life, caused. In people it manifested as a range of skin conditions, which were not leprosy, technically Hanson’s Disease. In fabrics (Leviticus 13:47-59) it consisted of damage which mold or mildew caused. And in building materials (14:33-47) people saw evidence of it via mildew or rot in walls.
Dermatological impurity received more fear and attention, however. Some even argued that it constituted divine punishment for sin. The combination of shunning and guilt must have been a terrible burden to bear. Hence restoration to wholeness and community must have been all the more wonderful.
May we refrain from laying burdens atop people. Rather, may we function as instruments of divine healing and reconciliation. May God work through us to restore others to wholeness and community. May God bless others through us. We will receive our blessings as part of that process. There will be blessings all around. Is that not wonderful?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 2, 2014 COMMON ERA
THE THIRD DAY OF ADVENT, YEAR B
THE FEAST OF SAINT BRIOC, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT; AND SAINT TUDWAL, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT AND BISHOP
THE FEAST OF CHANNING MOORE WILLIAMS, EPISCOPAL BISHOP IN CHINA AND JAPAN
THE FEAST OF JOHN BROWN, ABOLITIONIST
THE FEAST OF SAINT OSMUND OF SALISBURY, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
Everlasting God, you give strength to the weak and power to the faint.
Make us agents of your healing and wholeness,
that your good may be made known to the ends your creation,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 24
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The Assigned Readings:
Job 6:1-13
Psalm 102:12-28
Mark 3:7-12
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The days of my life are like a lengthening shadow:
though I am withering away like grass
You remain, LORD, for ever:
succeeding generations will be reminded of you.
–Psalm 102:12-13, The Psalms Introduced and Newly Translated for Today’s Readers, Harry Mowvley (1989)
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Today we have readings about two men–one fictional, the other real–who suffered, but not for any sin they had committed.
The titular character of the Book of Job was righteous. He suffered because God permitted it as a test of loyalty. Job’s alleged friends defended their orthodoxy, which held that Job must be suffering for a sin or sins he had committed, for God, being just, would never let an innocent person suffer. They blamed a victim and even gloated as he suffered. After Eliphaz the Temanite stated that a righteous person’s merit can shield him or her from harm, Job said:
…What strength have I, that I should endure?
How long have I to live, that I should be patient?
–6:11, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
Jesus had made deadly enemies as early as Mark 3:6. (His offense had been to heal on the Sabbath.) Throngs of people seeking healing pursued him, pressed upon him, and caused him great physical stress. At least Jesus had Apostles to prepare a getaway boat. But he still died at the hands of powerful political enemies. Fortunately, there was also the Resurrection.
A few weeks ago I heard a new (to me, anyway) take on the statement that God will never give us more to bear than we can handle. An individualistic understanding of that statement is erroneous, for we exist in spiritual community. Thus God will not impose a burden too heavy for the community to bear. This is about “we,” not “me.” May we support each other and not be like Job’s alleged friends. And there is more: we have the merits of Christ. That merit is sufficient, although it has not protected martyrs from harm. The message I take away from that fact is that safety is not necessarily part of God’s promise to the faithful. God will, however, be present with them. How is that for burden-sharing community?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 2, 2014 COMMON ERA
THE THIRD DAY OF ADVENT, YEAR B
THE FEAST OF SAINT BRIOC, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT; AND SAINT TUDWAL, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT AND BISHOP
THE FEAST OF CHANNING MOORE WILLIAMS, EPISCOPAL BISHOP IN CHINA AND JAPAN
THE FEAST OF JOHN BROWN, ABOLITIONIST
THE FEAST OF SAINT OSMUND OF SALISBURY, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
One of the recurring biblical themes is the coexistence of divine mercy and judgment. It is evident in 2 Kings, where King Josiah deferred yet did not cancel out via national holiness (however fleeting) the consequences of successive generations of national depravity and disregard for holiness. The Hollywood tacked-on happy ending, in the style of The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) after the studio took the film away from Orson Welles, would have been for forgiveness to wipe away everything. Yet judgment came–just later than scheduled previously.
I would like to be a Universalist–a Christian Universalist, to be precise. Yet that would be a false choice. No matter how much grace exists in Jesus, the reality of the Incarnation does demand a response to the question,
Who do we say Jesus is?
(Thanks to Professor Phillip Cary, in his Teaching Company course on the History of Christian Theology for making the point that the Synoptic Gospels pose that question to audiences.) And, as C. H. Dodd, while explaining Realized Eschatology in The Founder of Christianity, wrote of Jesus in that book:
In his words and actions he made men aware of [the kingdom of God] and challenged them to respond. It was “good news” in the sense that it meant opportunity for a new start and an unprecedented enrichment of experience. But when a person (or society) has been presented with such a challenge and declines it, he is not just where he was before. His position is the worse for the encounter….The coming of the kingdom meant the open opportunity of enhancement of life; it also meant the heightening of moral responsibility.
–1970 Macmillan paperback edition, page 58
So, regardless of the number of challenges and severity thereof we might face due to our fidelity to God, may we find encouragement to continue to follow Christ, our Lord and Savior, who suffered to the point of death and overcame that obstacle.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
OCTOBER 10, 2013 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN LEONARDI, FOUNDER OF THE CLERKS REGULAR OF THE MOTHER OF GOD; AND SAINT JOSEPH CALASANCTIUS, FOUNDER OF THE CLERKS REGULAR OF RELIGIOUS SCHOOLS
Liturgical time matters, for it sacramentalizes days, hours, and minutes, adding up to seasons on the church calendar. Among the frequently overlooked seasons is the Season after Epiphany, the first part of Ordinary Time. The Feast of the Epiphany always falls on January 6 in my tradition. And Ash Wednesday always falls forty days (excluding Sundays) before Easter Sunday. The Season after Epiphany falls between The Feast of the Epiphany and Ash Wednesday. In 2013 the season will span January 7-February 12.
This season ought to be a holy time, one in which to be especially mindful of the imperative to take the good news of Jesus of Nazareth to others by a variety of means, including words when necessary. Words are meaningless when our actions belie them, after all. Among the themes of this season is that the Gospel is for all people, not just those we define as insiders. No, the message is also for our “Gentiles,” those whom we define as outsiders. So, with that thought in mind, I encourage you, O reader, to exclude nobody. Do not define yourself as an insider to the detriment of others. If you follow this advice, you will have a proper Epiphany spirit.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
NOVEMBER 9, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF MARTIN CHEMNITZ, GERMAN LUTHERAN THEOLOGIAN
THE FEAST OF BARTON STONE, COFOUNDER OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH (DISCIPLES OF CHRIST)
Job needed friends. He got Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite instead. Alas for Job! And he lamented the lack of support. I would prefer strangulation too; at least it would get me away from those alleged friends.
Counterpoints occur in John. We being with John the Baptist, whose movement had fewer followers than that of Jesus. John continued to point toward our Lord. Then, in Chapter 4, Jesus commenced the longest recorded conversation in the canonical Gospels. This conversation was with not only a woman–unheard of in many circles–but with a Samaritan woman–even more scandalous. Many interpreters–out of mysogyny or tradition or both–have assumed that she had a dubious sexual reputation, but there is no textual proof for that. She could, for example have been in a levirate marriage–legal under the Law of Moses. Jesus helped the woman at the well. I can only imagine what harm Eliphaz, Bildad, or Zophar would have wrought.
Until the next segment of our journey….
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 15, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER, YEAR B
THE FEASTS OF SAINT OLGA OF KIEV, REGENT OF KIEVAN RUSSIA; ADALBERT OF MAGDEBURG, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP; ADALBERT OF PRAGUE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP AND MARTYR; AND BENEDICT AND GAUDENTIUS OF POMERANIA, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYRS
THE FEAST OF SAINT DAMIEN DE VEUSTER, A.K.A. DAMIEN OF MOLOKAI, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST
THE FEAST OF SAINT EGBERT OF LINDISFARNE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK AND SAINT ADALBERT OF EGMONT, ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARY
THE FEAST OF SAINT MELLITUS, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY
Holy Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints (2010), of The Episcopal Church, contains an adapted two-years weekday lectionary for the Epiphany and Ordinary Time seasons from the Anglican Church of Canada. I invite you to follow it with me.
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1 Kings 11:1-13 (TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures):
King Solomon loved many foreign women in addition to Pharaoh’s daughter–Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Phoenician, and Hittite women, from the nations of which the LORD had said to the Israelites,
None of you shall join them and none of them shall join you, lest they turn your heart away to follow their gods.
Such Solomon clung to and loved. He had seven hundred royal wives and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned his heart away. In his old age, his wives turned Solomon’s heart after other gods; and he not as wholeheartedly devoted to the LORD his God as his father David had been. Solomon followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Phoenicians, and Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
Solomon did what was displeasing to the LORD and did not remain loyal to the LORD like his father David. At that time, Solomon built a shrine for Chemosh the abomination of Moab on the hill near Jerusalem, and one for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites. And he did the same for all his foreign wives who offered and sacrificed to their gods.
The LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice and had commanded him about this matter, not to follow other gods; he did not obey what the LORD had commanded. And the LORD said to Solomon,
Because you are guilty of this–yo have not kept My covenant and the laws which I enjoined upon you–I will tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your servants. But, for the sake of your father David, I will not do it in your lifetime; I will tear it away from your son. However, I will not tear away the whole kingdom; I will give your son one tribe, for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen.
Psalm 132:11-19 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
11 The LORD has sworn an oath to David;
in truth, he will not break it:
12 ”A son, the fruit of your body
will I set upon your throne.
13 If your children keep my covenant
and my testimonies that I shall teach them,
their children will sit upon your throne for evermore.”
14 For the LORD has chosen Zion;
he has desired her for his habitation:
15 ”This shall be my resting-place for ever;
here will I dwell, for I delight in her.
16 I will surely bless her provisions,
and satisfy her poor with bread.
17 I will clothe her priests with salvation,
and her faithful people will rejoice and sing.
18 There will I make the horn of David flourish;
I have prepared a lamp for my Anointed.
19 As for his enemies, I will clothe them with shame;
but as for him, his crown will shine.”
Mark 7:24-30 (J. B. Phillips, 1972):
Then he got up and left that place and went off to the neighbourhood of Tyre. There we went into a house and wanted no one to know where he was. But it proved impossible to remain hidden. For no sooner had he got there, than a woman who had heard about him, and who had a daughter possessed by an evil spirit, arrived and prostrated herself before him. She was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by birth, and she asked him to drive the evil spirit out of her daughter. Jesus said to her,
You must let the children have all they want first. It is not right, you know, to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.
But she replied,
Yes, Lord, I know, but even the dogs under the table eat the scraps that the children leave.
Jesus said to her,
If you can answer like that you can go home! The evil spirit has left your daughter.
And she went back to her home and found the child lying quietly on her bed, and the evil spirit gone.
Set us free, O God, from the bondage of our sins, and give us the liberty of that abundant life which you have made known to us in your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
The theology of 1 Kings holds that faithlessness to God led to the decline of the Jewish kingdoms of the Old Testament. The truth is not quite that simple, I maintain, for one must consider economic factors in the mix. Marxian analysis rounds out the historical analysis nicely. I covered some of that ground in the previous post.
There is also the question of how to relate to Gentiles. The author of 1 Kings 11 preferred to stay away from them. But Jesus went to them in Mark 7. Tyre was, simply put, Gentiles Central. Thus I propose that, if our Lord had wanted to avoid Gentiles, he would not have chosen to visit Tyre. With that social context in mind, what might seem like an insult comes across as a statement meant to elicit a faithful response, which it did.
The proper question is not whether one is a Jew or a Gentile, but whether one is faithful. A home ought to be a place for the nurturing of faith, so marrying within the faith makes sense to me, assuming that marriage is one’s vocation. (There is nothing wrong with remaining single if that is one’s call from God.) Nurturing faith is also the proper work of a congregation and certain other social support system one has. Religion, which is somewhat personal, is also inherently public, not that this fact ought to lead to the establishment and maintenance of a theocracy. Besides, mutual forbearance and toleration where respect fails at least has the virtue of fostering civility. And, as Roger Williams, a minister and a colonial advocate of the separation of church and state, said, a prayer one utters under compulsion is meaningless.
As for me, I stand by and for certain propositions, but I do so without being habitually cranky. Most of my professions, many of which I offer via this and other weblogs, are positive. The grace of God is for all people–Jews and Gentiles. The Apostle Paul and James, Bishop of Jerusalem, stirred up controversy by welcoming Gentiles. These great men were correct, of course. Simon Peter came to realize in Acts 10 that purity codes separating Jews from Gentiles were null and void.
I, as a Gentile, stand on the shoulders of these men.
An enduring lesson I offer you, O reader, is this: Who are your “Gentiles,” those you consider impure, assuming, of course, that you make such judgments? Like Peter, Paul, and James, and Jesus, may you reach out to them and welcome them in God’s Name, to the glory of God and for the benefit of your “Gentiles.”
Holy Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints (2010), of The Episcopal Church, contains an adapted two-years weekday lectionary for the Epiphany and Ordinary Time seasons from the Anglican Church of Canada. I invite you to follow it with me.
These are the records of the skies and the earth when they were created: In the sky that YHWH made earth and skies–when all produce of the field had not yet been in the earth, and all vegetation of the field had not yet grown, for YHWH God had not rained on the earth, and there had been no human to work the ground, and a river had come up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground–
YHWH God fashioned a human, dust from the ground, and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and the human became a living being.
And YHWH God planted a garden in Eden at the east, and He set the human whom He had fashioned there. And YHWH God caused every tree that was pleasant to the sight and good for eating to grow from the ground, and the tree of life within the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and bad.
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And YHWH God took the human and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and to watch over it. And YHWH God commanded the human, saying,
You may eat from every tree of the garden. But from the tree of knowledge of good and bad: you shall not eat from it, because in the day you eat from it: you’ll die!
Psalm 104:25, 28-31 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
25 O LORD, how manifold are your works!
in wisdom you have made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
28 All of them look to you
to give them their food in due season.
29 You give it to them; they gather it;
you open your hand, and they are filled with good things.
30 You hide your face, and they are terrified;
you take away their breath,
and they die and return to their dust.
31 You send forth your Spirit, and they are created;
and so you renew the face of the earth.
Mark 7:14-23 (J. B. Phillips, 1972):
Then he called the crowd close to him again, and spoke to them,
Listen to me now, all of you, and understand this. There is nothing outside a man which can enter into him and make him “common”. It is the things which come out of a man that make him “common!
Later, when he had gone indoors away from the crowd, his disciples asked him about this parable.
He said,
Oh, are you as dull as they are? Can’t you see that anything that goes into a man from outside cannot make him ‘common’ or unclean? You see, it doesn’t go into his heart, but into his stomach, and passes out of the body altogether, so that all food is clean enough. But,
he went on,
whatever comes out of a man, that is what makes a man ‘common’ or unclean. For it is from inside, from men’s hearts and minds, that evil thoughts arise–lust, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, arrogance, and folly! All these evil things come from inside a man and make him unclean!
Set us free, O God, from the bondage of our sins, and give us the liberty of that abundant life which you have made known to us in your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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One of the advantages to reading Biblical passages, especially those familiar to one, in translations (not just one version) is finding shades of meaning emphasized in various ways. The J. B. Phillips New Testament in Modern English, the second edition of which I have quoted, is wonderful in that it fulfills this function well.
Compare the Phillips translation to other versions. Phillips says “make a man ‘common.'” More traditional translations say “defile him.” What is it about being “common” that is allegedly defiling? Ritual uncleanliness–in this case, tied to the washing of one’s hands before eating–was part of a purity code. To be pure ritually was to be separate from–excuse the double entendre–the great unwashed. I think of a parable Jesus told elsewhere. A Pharisee and a tax collector (a tax thief and a Roman collaborator) were praying in the same space. The Pharisee thanked God that he was not like the tax collector and listed a catalog of his good works. But the tax collector was humble before God, and he went away justified.
I have DVDs (available from the Learning Company) of Luke Timothy Johnson teaching about the Gospels. Professor Johnson states that one of the themes in Mark is that the seeming insiders really are not insiders. This analysis holds up well, based on my reading of that canonical Gospel. What is more seemingly “inside” than the religious establishment? Many of these people liked to cling to notions of ritual purity. But, as Jesus tells us, that misses the point. What is inside makes us pure or impure; what we consume does not.
The first part of the second creation myth from Genesis tells us that God breathed life into Adam. I leave the details of life and evolution to scientists, and the specifics of theology to theologians. Each is a different way of knowing, and both are valuable. The myth does contain truths, and among them is this one: we are all precious in the eyes of God. We have that in common.
Imagined purity functions to define the allegedly pure as such and the different others as impure. It reinforces class systems and religious prejudices. Yet God, as the prophet Samuel said, does not look at us as we look at each other; God looks at who and what we really are. Therein lies our purity or lack thereof.
Our challenge today is to examine ourselves and check ourselves for any indication of a fixation on ritual purity, regardless of the form it takes. Are we viewing others as God perceives them, or in a way conducive to reinforcing our egos?
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